2-Minute Review

Let's cut through the noise, and get to the crux of it. 15+ Expert Reviews analysed and summarised by the PhoneCurry Editorial Team, in a short and sweet 2-minute review.

Design

Attractive, understated, high-quality all-metal design

Ergonomic build

IP68-certified for dust and water resistance

Display

Very good display with high contrast ratio, punchy colors, and pleasantly sharp viewing angles

Software

Sony's UI over Android is well-optimised and feels fast and fluid

Camera

Good rear camera - performs well in both well-lit and low-lit conditions - gets close to the cameras of the iPhone 7 and the Google Pixel, although it's not able to best them

The USP of the camera though is the super slow-mo camera - shoots slow-motion clips at a mind-boggling 960 fps (the slowest slow-mos available in a commercially available phone right now can't exceed 240 fps) - producing almost unreal, cool-looking, futuristic slow-motion videos

Also has a unique predictive capture feature which works well for capturing picture which have a moving subject

The 13-megapixel front camera is great too for selfie lovers - the wide angles lens on-board ensures it can cover a larger area while still managing to retain lots of detail and mostly accurate colours even in tricky light situations

Although the camera on-board the Xperia XZs is pretty quick to focus with passable shutter speed, much like the Xperia XZ (and the Z5), the algorithm on-board is marred by a slight delay in processing and saving pictures after you've clicked them - even more so during predictive capture - phones like the Pixel and the iPhone 7 feel faster, apart from giving better results overall

The 960 fps slow-motion mode is pretty cool, but is not always simple to use - timing and proper lighting are crucial

Video recording at Full-HD or 4K resolutions tends to heat up the device pretty fast

Audio

Good audio quality

The front-firing stereo speakers are pretty good and get loud and punchy with little or no distortion at peak volume - it's again one area where the phone really stands out

Very good call quality

Battery

Pretty good battery life - comfortably lasts the day - though there are competitors which perform better in this regard

"Intelligent charging" learns your charging patterns and adapts to them, which should give you even better real-life battery usage

Also supports Qualcomm's Quick Charge 3.0 - charging the phone by up to 60 per cent in 45 minutes